Poetry anthology (Songs of Ourselves) — IGCSE World Literature (0408) questions by topic
Poetry from Songs of Ourselves asks you to explain, explore or discuss how a poet makes a single poem memorable or powerful, whether that means the mood of a whale-watching trip, the isolation of a mountain landscape, or a shift in tone signalled by a change of imagery. These are the only three command words tested here, but each demands close attention to individual word choices rather than a general summary.
Answers are 25-mark essays drawn from 30 real questions spanning 2023 to 2025 papers. Practise by writing full responses to a range of the anthology's poems and submitting them for instant marking, so you can see how the mark scheme rewards tracking a poem's structure and shifts in tone over simply describing its subject.
What examiners look for
- On the dolphin-watchers poem, examiners noted the strongest answers understood the watchers' mixed excitement and disappointment, quoting 'even the lovers' and the detail of parents hoping their children would see.
- Reports repeatedly praise candidates who focus on the specific terms of the question and the named poem throughout, selecting apt references rather than listing techniques.
- The best responses moved beyond surface meaning to deeper interpretation, supported by a sensitive personal response and well-integrated quotation.
- On a poem shifting from gloom to hope, examiners highlighted strong answers that tracked the change from death imagery such as 'spectre-grey' and 'corpse' to the hope signalled by the 'aged thrush' and religious language like 'evensong'.
May–June 2025, Paper 31
Selection from Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2: from Part 2 Read the printed poem 'Parrot' by Stevie Smith, and then answer the question that follows it. (The poem is described in…
Answer this question and get it marked →Selection from Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2: from Part 2 How does William Barnes vividly convey the effect of the storm in The Storm-Wind? [25]
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 32
Read this poem, Eel Tail by Alice Oswald (from Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2, Part 2), and then answer the question that follows it. The poem evokes the elusive, half-glimpsed…
Answer this question and get it marked →Explore how Judith Wright conveys powerful emotions in Australia 1970. [25]
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 33
Selection from Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2: from Part 2 Read the poem 'Cetacean' by Peter Reading, and then answer the question that follows it. The poem records a whale-watching…
Answer this question and get it marked →Selection from Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2: from Part 2 How does Hardy strikingly convey a change in the speaker's feelings in The Darkling Thrush? [25]
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 31
In what ways does Thomas Carew strikingly portray the changing seasons in The Spring?
Answer this question and get it marked →Explore how Alice Oswald creates such fascinating impressions of eels in Eel Tail.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 32
In what ways does Ruth Pitter vividly convey her admiration for the stormcock in this poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →Explore how Thomas Hardy memorably conveys the speaker’s thoughts and feelings about the future in The Darkling Thrush.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 33
In what ways does William Barnes create powerful impressions of the storm-wind in this poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →In what ways does David Constantine create such a striking atmosphere in Watching for Dolphins?
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 31
Explore how Vivian Smith creates such vivid impressions of the birds in this poem.
Answer this question and get it marked →In what ways does Judith Wright make Australia 1970 such a powerful poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 32
Explore how Vivian Smith creates such vivid impressions of the birds in this poem.
Answer this question and get it marked →In what ways does Judith Wright make Australia 1970 such a powerful poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 33
How does Allen Curnow use words and images to striking effect in You will Know When You Get There?
Answer this question and get it marked →Explore how Robinson Jeffers makes The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean such a memorable poem.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 31
How does Thomas Hardy strikingly convey the speaker’s state of mind in The Darkling Thrush?
Answer this question and get it marked →Explore how Peter Reading vividly depicts the experience of observing whales in Cetacean.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 32
Explore how Judith Wright vividly communicates a sense of anger in Australia 1970.
Answer this question and get it marked →In what ways does Thomas Carew memorably convey the speaker’s thoughts and feelings in The Spring?
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 33
Explore how Kofi Awoonor dramatically conveys the power of the sea in The Sea Eats the Land at Home.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explore how Stevie Smith makes Parrot such a disturbing poem.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 31
How does David Constantine vividly portray the dolphin watchers in this poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →How does Ruth Pitter create striking impressions of the stormcock in Stormcock in Elder?
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 32
How does David Constantine vividly portray the dolphin watchers in this poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →How does Ruth Pitter create striking impressions of the stormcock in Stormcock in Elder?
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 33
Explore the ways in which Robinson Jeffers makes this such a memorable poem.
Answer this question and get it marked →In what ways does Thomas Hardy make The Darkling Thrush such a powerful poem?
Answer this question and get it marked →Other IGCSE World Literature topics
- Drama (60)
- Prose (60)
- Prose anthology (Stories of Ourselves) (30)
- Unseen poetry and prose (15)